"You're going to be heading off to college soon," William said looking across the fire at Eddie. He added another small log to the fire and sat back to watch it catch.
"I've got another two years of high school," Eddie said poking a stick into the fire and watching the end start to burn. He pulled the stick out of the fire. The weak flame flickered and died. The small glowing bud at the end of the stick slowly faded.
"Enjoy them while you can," William said.
Everyone was telling Eddie the same thing. Enjoy his time now while he could. He wanted to grow up and do more adult things. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "You talk like you speak from experience."
"Not really. My life has been a lot different than yours," William replied. He looked into the small fire and stared at the shimmering red coals. He sighed and said, "You're lucky."
"I'm not blessed by the Powers that Be like you are," Eddie said. He looked across the fire to see his brother's reaction.
"You've been blessed by the Powers that Be. It is just that you've gotten a different blessing than I," William said. He thought about how much he knew and how little he could do. It seemed to him at times like every move he made was dictated. Knowing what was about to happen two miles from where he was seated, he sighed and said, "I think you have gotten the better blessing."
The comment surprised Eddie. There were times when he was in awe of his brother and what he could do. If he was a less balanced person he might even have been jealous of his brother. He said, "You're just saying that to make me feel better."
William laughed and said, "I am saying that to make you feel better. That doesn't mean it isn't true."
"I don't understand. You're special and everyone knows it. You know all kinds of things. You know what is going to happen before it happens. I'm just a regular person. There's nothing special about me," Eddie said.
William reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He took one out and handed the pack over to Eddie. Seeing the cigarettes come out, Eddie knew that William was about to cover some very serious subjects. He took the pack and pulled out a cigarette. He lit it with the stick he had been poking into the fire. He held up the stick for William who used it to light his cigarette.
William took a long drag off his cigarette and exhaled to the sky. He said, "One of the hardest things about becoming an adult is learning to accept responsibility for your actions."
"I know that. The moms and dads are always talking about responsibility," Eddie said. He took a drag off his cigarette and watched William study the stars overhead.
"If I were to push you into the fire, would I be responsible for your injuries?" William asked after a minute.
"Of course you would," Eddie said nodding his head vigorously.
"If you were to trip over that stone and fall into the fire, would I be responsible for that?" William asked pointing to a small stone near the fire. The coffee pot filled with hot water was resting on the stone.
"No. It would be an accident," Eddie said looking at the stone. He had put the stone there earlier.
"How about if I were to know that you would trip over it and didn't warn you or move it out of the way?" William asked raising an eyebrow.
"I guess you would be partly to blame, but you couldn't know it for a fact," Eddie said with a frown. He had a feeling that he knew where his brother was going to take the discussion.
Looking at his brother, William said, "That's the problem. I can know it for a fact."
Feeling that his brother was taking too much responsibility, Eddie said, "It would be partly my fault. I should have been looking where I was going."
"That's true, but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't have moved the rock to prevent you from falling into the fire," William said with a slight nod of his head. He looked up at the sky for a second and then said, "There are a lot of little partial responsibilities like that in my life. You don't have them because you can't know all of the consequences of your actions."
"I think that you take too much of the world's problems on your shoulders," Eddie said. He took another drag off his cigarette and watched the fire. A little blue jet of flame escaped out the side of the log William had put on the fire earlier. With a hiss, it flickered and then went out.
"I don't take the world's problems on my shoulders. My service forces them upon my shoulders. I have to watch everything I do with great care because I know the long-term consequences of each and every act I perform," William said.
"I guess I never thought about it like that," Eddie said. He wondered how anyone could live like that. He said, "You must be miserable."
William thought about it and said, "I'm happy enough. I have a very supportive family."
"I guess," Eddie said wondering how he contributed to William's life. He took a drag off the cigarette and blew the smoke up to the sky. He said, "We don't do that much for you. It is not that we don't want to, but that you don't seem to need much from us."
William laughed and said, "You're doing a lot for me at the moment by sitting here and listening to me."
"It is very little," Eddie said. He looked at William and noticed that his face looked like he had just bitten into a very sour lemon. William was looking off to the side as if there was something very ugly happening over there.
Shaking his head, William returned to the moment and said, "Enjoy your time now. One day you'll take over for Daddy Ed and you'll be in charge of his businesses."
"Don't forget the town," Eddie said knowing how his father felt responsible for the town.
"Never," William said.
There was the sound of a large explosion in the distance. Eddie looked around and asked, "What was that?"
"The attack on the house has started," William answered. He waved a hand as if it was nothing.
Worried, Eddie asked, "Shouldn't we get back to the house?"
"No. Momma Ling, Momma Claire, and my security are there. Let them take care of it," William answered.
"You're sure that they can handle it?" Eddie asked.
"Quite sure," William said tossing his cigarette into the fire. He turned and rummaged through his pack. He pulled out a plastic bag and asked, "Would you like to toast a marshmallow or two?"
"Sure," Eddie said surprised to see the bag of marshmallows. He had a brought a little treat of his own. He asked, "Would you like some hot chocolate to go with that? I've got a couple of packages of instant cocoa here."
"That would be perfect," William said reaching over to his pack to get out a cup.
At the house, Ling was watching the security monitor when an explosion took out a section of the fence surrounding William's property. Three black SUVs were driving down the road toward the hole in the fence. A small infrared signature showed up in the desert on the property across the road. She said, "I've found the guy who placed the explosives."
Claire commented, "The SUVs are going to enter through the breach. We should get some people there."
"I've got the industrial laser ready. I'll just cut them in half as soon as they enter William's property," Ling said running her fingers over the controls. She raised the laser so that it would sweep out at forty inches above the ground. That would cut through any vehicles at a height that would correspond to the height of the waists of the occupants.
"That's not an industrial laser. It is a military laser," Rock said glancing over at Ling.
Colt was in charge of the defenses. Looking over at Ling, he said, "Just take out the tires. Let them get fifty yards in before you use the laser."
"Half measures," Ling grumbled despite being impressed that William had military lasers. She lowered the lasers so that they'd sweep out seven inches from the ground.
Colt spoke into the microphone, "Teams one and two, move through the trench so that you're in front of the break. I'll tell you when it is safe to raise your head. Team three, the guy who set the explosives is in sector A-5."
Claire had driven through William's ranch without noticing any kind of trench. She asked, "Trench?"
"What trench?" Ling asked.
"We've got trenches dug seventy-five and a hundred yards inside the property line," Rock answered watching the monitors. A line marking the trench appeared as the camouflage cover retracted. He could see the two teams moving through the trench. He added, "We'll send them out to take control of the occupants of the vehicles once they've been stopped."
"The bad guys aren't going to give up," Ling said. The three vehicles burst through the fence. Impatient, she waited for them to reach the fifty yard mark so that she could press the fire button on the laser.
Rock looked over at Ling and then turned to face Nicole. He said, "Get the LRADs ready."
Nicole said, "They are ready."
"What LRADs?" Claire asked. She had thought she had seen all of the defensive systems that had been arranged around the property.
"William had some Long Range Acoustical Devices installed around the property," Rock answered. The devices sent a focused beam of sound that could cause nausea or unconsciousness in a person who stood in the way of the beam. It was actually a phased array of speakers arranged such that the propagation of sound to the sides was negated while the propagation of sound to the front was reinforced. The effect on a person standing in front of it was devastating, but a person standing behind it or off to the side was unaffected.
Ling fired the laser so that it swept out a short arc during the few milliseconds that it fired. The high intensity light cut through the three cars at a height of seven inches. All tires and half of the rims were cut off almost instantaneously. The result was an explosion of dust when the SUVs stopped being supported by their tires. The vehicles slid to a stop in less than fifteen yards. Colt chuckled and said, "I bet they weren't expecting that."
Ling watched the monitor and said, "The laser is recharging. I can give them another shot in ten seconds."
"Stand down, Ling. The cars have been stopped," Colt said watching the action on the monitor. He wondered what was happening inside the vehicles. He was pretty sure that a few brains were rattled by the sudden drop in speed. The glass hampered the ability of the infrared cameras to see what was going on inside the cars.
There was a good thirty second delay before the men inside the car boiled out. Despite the time delay, they didn't look very organized. All of the men were obviously armed. Rock said, "Order them to lay down their weapons and put their hands over their heads."
A little action on one of the monitors attracted Ling's attention. She saw that the lone person who had set the explosives was now surrounded by five other heat signatures. She had no idea where they had been hiding. She realized that the team had to have been positioned before the attack began.
Nicole leaned forward and activated a microphone. She said, "Lay down your weapons and put your hands over your heads."
The LRADs broadcast the message in the direction of the cars. The men ignored the command and started heading towards the house. Shaking his head in disgust, Colt said, "Hit them with the sonics."
Nicole flipped a switch. The result was practically instantaneous. The windows of the SUVs blew out. Dropping their weapons, the attackers tried to cover their ears. Their steps faltered and they staggered around as if drunk. Some of the men fell to their knees and started vomiting. The rest just fell to the ground and writhed in pain.
Rock grimaced and then said, "That hurts just to watch it."
After a minute passed, Nicole flipped off the switch and said, "It is safe for our teams to advance now."
Rock keyed his microphone and said, "Teams one and two. Get the intruders now."
Ling stared at the screen and asked, "Are they paralyzed?"
"No, they're just disoriented. It will take them a minute or two to recover," Colt said with a small smile. He had experienced a slightly weaker blast from the LRAD and lost his lunch. The volume was loud enough to hurt the ears, but that wasn't the worst of it. The noise generated was worse than scraping chalk over a blackboard. He had felt like his brain was getting pulled apart.
The two security teams gained immediate control of the situation. The intruders were bound with plastic wrist ties and the weapons gathered. After two minutes, one of the team leaders radioed back, "We've got it under control."
Colt thumbed his mike and said, "Don't relax yet. We're still monitoring the second team."
Even while Colt was talking, another monitor showed some action taking place a mile down the road. Natalie turned around and said, "The other three cars have turned around. They are leaving the area."
Shaking his head, Rock said, "We knew that this was a probing attack. I wouldn't be surprised if they are already talking about putting together another attack right now."
"They'll consider bringing in air support and missiles next time," Colt said.
"I guess it is time for us to ruin their plans," Rock said with a smile. He tapped Nicole on the shoulder.
Nicole picked up the telephone and dialed a number. She waited for the other party to answer and then said, "You can pick them up now. The three cars are heading north on the access road. They'll be at the highway in five minutes. We've got twelve armed trespassers in custody and we'll hold them until you can get here."
Listening to how prepared they were for the attack, Ling sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. Feeling like William had used this as way of making her feel foolish, she asked, "How much detail did William give you about this attack?"
"Just the date," Colt answered. Colt had actually expected the attack to occur later in the night.
"He didn't tell you how they would attack?" Ling asked.
"He only told us the date. You were at the table when he told us it would be tonight," Rock answered.
Not quite believing them, Claire said, "It was like you knew exactly where they were going to attack."
Colt laughed and said, "They've been under surveillance for a month."
"Oh," Ling said.
Colt said, "Nothing goes on around here without our security team knowing exactly what is happening. We've been watching a variety of people casing the place for months. Four of our people have been approached by others to make maps of the place."
"You're kidding," Ling said. She would have tried to shut down their activities as soon as she had heard about them.
Rock said, "When it comes to protecting Lucy, William doesn't take a chance. Every car that gets within three miles of this place is checked out. Every plane that flies over the ranch is tracked. Every visitor in town who asks any questions is investigated."
Ling frowned and asked, "He's becoming paranoid."
Nicole looked at Ling and said, "You do the same thing where you live. No one comes into your town without a hundred folks asking them a hundred questions."
"Well, that's different," Ling said looking a little embarrassed.
Out on the range, William and Eddie were roasting marshmallows and drinking hot chocolates. William pulled his marshmallow out of the fire and examined it. Grinning, he said, "Perfect."
"Mine is better," Eddie said looking at his marshmallow. The entire outside was a nice even golden brown.
William ate his marshmallow in one huge bite. After swallowing, he grinned at his brother and then said, "Let me eat yours. I'll give you an unbiased judgment on how well yours is cooked."
"No way," Eddie said taking a bite out of his. The toasted outside slipped off leaving a nice melted gooey mess on the stick. Licking his lips, he said, "Perfect."
William looked up at the sky and said, "It is nice to be out here with you, Eddie."
"I'm enjoying it, too," Eddie said. There weren't many occasions when he and William were alone like this. Most of the time, Lucy or Ed was around.
William said, "I won't be leaving the ranch very often from now on."
"Why?"
"The conspiracy nuts have started calling me the Desert Spider. They think that I'm going to take over the world from here," William said with a sigh.
Eddie snorted and said, "That's nothing new. A lot of people think that you are using your money and influence to control the government."
"I am," William said looking across the fire at his brother. He smiled at the expression of embarrassment that crossed his brother's face.
"Well, I know that, but you aren't doing it for evil reasons," Eddie said.
Amused by Eddie's defense of him, William asked, "Are you sure about that?"
"You bet," Eddie said.
"I wouldn't take that bet," William said with a sigh.
Frowning, Eddie asked, "Why?"
William said, "There are a lot of people who believe that the world should work one way and not another. There are just as many who believe the opposite. If you are changing things significantly, you're going to make one group or another angry. I'm making a lot of changes. In fact, I'm making enough changes that every group is going to get angry."
"You're making the world a better place," Eddie said with a frown.
"There are going to be a lot of angry people. If you ask them, they'll tell you that I'm the bad guy," William said. "If I reduce welfare a little here and there, a thousand people who expected the support will lose it. They'll want to blame someone for their loss and as the person behind the move to reduce welfare I'll be blamed. Destroy the need for weapons and lot of people will lose their jobs. Who else do you blame except for the person who destroyed the need for the weapons?"
"You have to be able to do something about it," Eddie said.
William shook his head and said, "With every social change there are winners and losers. Even if everyone wins a little, they all lose a little. People concentrate more on what they've lost than what they've won. It is human nature. I can't change that."
"I don't believe that," Eddie said.
"If you found a hundred dollars on the ground, how long would you remember it?" William asked.
"For a long time," Eddie answered. Seeing the look on his brother's face, he said, "Maybe a week or two."
"If I were to take ten dollars of that hundred right out of your hand and walk off with it, how long would you remember what I did?" William asked.
"Forever," Eddie answered.
William said, "That's right."
Eddie was silent while he thought about what William had said. He put another marshmallow on his stick and stuck it over the fire. He said, "I guess you're right."
William asked, "So what do you think?"
"I think that you are going to become one of the most hated men in the world."
"Maybe," William said. He looked up at the sky and watched the stars for a minute. He said, "I will do my best to remain invisible to the world. They won't realize all that I've done and that will protect me a little."
"Does Lucy understand this?" Eddie asked.
Nodding his head, William answered, "Yes, she does. She sees the power that I've got and understands what will happen when I use it."
Eddie said, "You might be right."
"About what?" William asked glancing over at Eddie.
"I got the better blessing from the Powers that Be," Eddie answered. He checked his marshmallow. It wasn't quite done, but he ate it anyway.
In the living room, Ed looked over at Lucy. He asked, "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine," Lucy answered.
"You didn't seem concerned during the attack," Ed said.
Lucy chuckled and said, "William is out on the desert."
"So?"
Lucy asked, "Do you think he would have gone there if I had been in any danger?"
Ed laughed and answered, "No."
"William told me once about the times when he was young and people attacked your home. He was right about how it feels," Lucy said with a sigh.
"How does it feel?" Ed asked.
Lucy answered, "He said he felt disappointed by the attackers."
"That's a good way to put it," Ed said nodding his head.